Paradise City
by Danascully2
Summary: The Academy Day celebration in Zion. An Academy ultimate-dance party. Hilarity, flirting, and cheesy dance music ensue. ;)


**TITLE:** Paradise City

**AUTHOR:** Danascully

**SUMMARY:** The Academy Day celebration in Zion. An Academy ultimate-dance party. Hilarity, flirting, and cheesy dance music ensue. ;)

**SPOILERS:** The Matrix, "Butterfly"

**CATEGORY:** OC/Humor/slight F/F slash

**RATING:** PG-13, just to be careful

**DISCLAIMER:** The crew of the Neb and the world of the Matrix are NOT mine. Sorcha, Pegasus, Mongoose, and the other Academy students ARE mine, though, and I'd love feedback!

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **The Revolutions trailer, tv-spots, and rumors are making everyone anxious and depressed. We need some cheer in our lives! Ergo, concordantly, vis-a-vis... I wrote this incredibly silly fic, which takes place during the six months between the Matrix and Reloaded. Let us not forget, people, that during those months, the humans were "winning." They were probably even HAPPY - which is something we never get to see in the actual movies. SO, while you are more than welcome to flame me for OOCness, I will refuse to listen to you on the grounds that we have NO IDEA what Trinity, Neo, Niobe, etc. are like when they're GENUINELY happy, and consequently, my interpretation may stand unchallenged by official authority. ;)

Thanks to Ryven and Vitani for reading part of this and telling me it wasn't TOO stupid (do you guys want to take that back, now? ;) ), and to Centaur for sending me awesome music. If anyone wants any of the songs in here, let me know - I have them all. The full Academy Day Dance Party Tracklist can be found at the very bottom of the fic. :D

Also, I have no idea who came up with the term 'Trixside, but whoever you are, it's brilliant and I used it once, so thanks!

AND, Trinity's comment about nylon originated with Centaur and beat. I owe them hugely for it!

So now, in the words of Persephone... "Have fun!" ;) 

**Paradise City**

In the ten months of Sorcha's unplugged life, she had never seen Mongoose as anxious as he was right now. Goose was a wise-cracking, trash-talking, gossip-mongering, cocky kid. He didn't get worried. But at this moment, as they walked briskly towards the mess from the afternoon workout - hair still glistening from the showers - he was wearing a deep frown and gesticulating wildly.

"What if the Caduceus isn't back yet?" he muttered frantically. "What am I going to do? They'll laugh me out of the Temple! I'll never be allowed to DJ again!"

Sorcha had to bite her lip hard to keep from laughing, and Peg's solution was to double over in a momentary, violent coughing spell. So violent, in fact, that Mongoose stopped waving his arms for a few seconds to frown at her in concern.

"Are you okay?"

"Fine!" Peg choked. "Think I just... strained my lungs or something, on the Gauntlet!"

"Oh," he replied. "Easy to do." But just as he took a deep breath in order to begin ranting once more, Sorcha mastered her hilarity and stopped him with a gentle hand on his sinewy upper arm.

"No one is going to laugh you out of the Temple, Goose," she said in the most soothing voice she could muster. "In fact, I bet they'll never even notice if you don't get the new music in time."

But Goose would not be comforted. "No way, Sorcha," he replied vehemently, shaking her hand off his arm. "No frickin' **way**. You have no idea how many Cadets have asked me if I managed to get ahold of their requests! I will be **replaced** if Ballard doesn't get back today or tomorrow."

"**Captain** Ballard," Sorcha said automatically. Mongoose glared at her.

"What have people been asking for?" Peg asked as they began to walk again, her poker face intact.

"Well..." Goose began pensively, "I mean, I always get the latest compilation, so... 'Now That's What I Call Music, Volume 3'. And then a lot of people have been asking for the latest CD by this guy named Fatboy Slim." He shrugged. "Kind of a stupid name, but apparently he has some good electronica. Oh, and 'Country Grammar' by Nelly. Kid says it's the hot new rap disc." He sighed, then, thin shoulders slumping. "I mean... maybe I **should** let someone else DJ! Someone who got unplugged recently."

"Don't be silly," Sorcha told him. "I bet you totally kick ass at it."

But Mongoose only sighed again, slipped his hands into the pockets of his ragged pants, and trudged on towards the mess.

"I don't want to go in there," he muttered when they reached the double-doors. "I don't want to have to deal with everyone asking me where their fucking tunes are!"

"The Caduceus might be home by now," Peg pointed out, hopefully.

Goose turned to her, his face contorted in a painful grimace. "Will you go look for me? I... I just can't."

Peg shot him one of those wide, brilliant smiles that always made Sorcha's pulse skip a beat. "Sure, Goose. Hang on, okay?"

She darted lithely inside the steel doors, and Sorcha watched her go with that possessive fascination that new lovers always had for each others' bodies. Despite his disquiet, Mongoose couldn't let the occasion go without a snide comment.

"Quit drooling, will you?"

Sorcha let her head swivel slowly until their gazes were locked, and then she arched her left eyebrow in true Trinity-fashion. "Absolutely not," she said coolly. And smiled. 

Mongoose would have burst into uproarious laughter, had Pegasus not reemerged into the corridor at that precise moment, shouting, "He's back! He's back! And he's **in** the mess, Goose!"

Mongoose needed no further encouragement - he darted through the closing doors before Peg could choke out another word.

"Thank God," Sorcha told her, as she skidded to a halt. "I had no idea what to do - I've never seen him like this!"

"Me neither," Peg replied. "But hopefully he'll be all right, now." Her frown of concern suddenly morphed into an enigmatic smile. "Oh - another ship came in, today."

"Yeah?" Sorcha asked, mildly curious. "Which one?"

Pegasus smirked. "I'll give you a hint. It starts with N and ends with 'ezzar.'"

"**What**?" Sorcha's yelp rebounded several times off the metallic walls.

Peg laughed out loud. "That's right, Toto, Dorothy's home."

Sorcha punched her lightly on the shoulder, but the grin never left her lips. "Oh, stop it. C'mon - let's go in and say hello."

The dull roar of the mess enveloped them in a wave of hot human voices as they pushed open the doors. Just inside, Mongoose had cornered Ballard, who was slowly withdrawing a disk from his pocket. 

"...owe you BIG TIME!" Goose was exclaiming.

"You sure do!" Ballard answered, but the skin around his brown eyes was crinkled in silent laughter. "We ran into an Agent as soon as we left the music store!"

"Shit!" Peg murmured appreciatively. Sorcha's eyebrows shot up towards her hairline for the second time that night. But then the mess disappeared as two cool hands closed around her eyes from behind.

"Guess who?" asked that smooth, rich voice she knew so well. Sorcha felt her lips stretch in a face-splitting smile, but she played along.

"Uh... one of Charlie's Angels?" she asked playfully.

"Pffft!" the voice replied, to the background music of Peg's light peals of laughter. "I could kick their asses with my eyes closed, in the Real World."

"Ahh," Sorcha replied sagely. "You must be the Goddess Athena, then."

"Getting warmer," answered the voice, full and smug.

"Well," the girl mused, "if you're not Athena... then you must be Trinity, in a really good mood!"

Trinity actually laughed out loud and removed her hands from Sorcha's eyes. The girl spun around and gave her a quick hug. "Welcome home," she breathed into the older woman's shoulder. She tried to take a step back, but Trinity kept her arms locked. The older woman glanced over Sorcha's red head at Pegasus, whose wide-eyed attention was being totally commanded by Neo, and let her mouth drift closer towards Sorcha's right ear.

"Have you thought about what you're wearing tomorrow night?" she asked in a barely intelligible whisper.

"Wearing?" Sorcha asked, blinking in confusion. "No... I mean, are we supposed to wear something special?" She laughed. "I have one sweater, two tank tops, and one pair of pants. They're all full of holes."

"Come to my quarters after dinner," Trinity told her. "I have the perfect solution." She pulled away, then, far enough for Sorcha to see her mischevious wink. "Without Peg. This needs to be a surprise for her."

Sorcha flashed a wicked smile. "Are you sure I won't be... interrupting something?"

Trinity's eyes flashed in amusement. "**Un**fortunately," she replied, "Neo has a meeting with the Councillors after the meal."

"I'm sorry," Sorcha told her, trying to keep a straight face and failing miserably. Trinity pushed her away with a gentle shove.

"You are terrible! Go! Go eat your dinner." By this time, both Peg and Neo were looking at them quizzically, and Sorcha could have sworn that Trinity actually flushed, ever so slightly.

"Hey, Sorcha," said Neo. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," the girl replied archly. "Nothing in the slightest. Welcome home."

***

The earthen pillars of the Temple were vibrating with the bass line. Literally. Pegasus stood next to Mongoose, who was biting his bottom lip and punching commands into a battered computer. That computer, in turn, was hooked up to easily a dozen speakers, spread out strategically through the immense cave to produce the best acoustics. Just now, they were blaring "What is Love," by Haddaway.

_What is love? Baby don't hurt me, don't hurt me, no more..._

"Where the freak is she?" Peg asked for the third time in as many minutes, craning her head to keep the entrance to the Temple in sight.

"What did she say, exactly?" Goose asked, his fingers still a blur on the keyboard as he cued up track after track. Peg's forehead wrinkled in concentration.

"'Oh shit, it's my turn to power down the Gauntlet, go on without me, I'll meet you there,'" she recited from memory.

"Well, then, she'll be here," Mongoose replied, never taking his eyes from the screen.

"But that was over half an hou-" Pegasus' voice cut out in mid sentence as though someone had found her internal mute button. Goose finally looked up to behold Peg's gaping jaw and owl-eyes, and promptly turned his head in the direction she was looking. And felt his own bottom lip hit the uneven floor.

"Where... did she get that *shirt*?" he choked.

"Trinity," Peg whispered. "Had to be Trinity. My... god."

As if on cue, Sorcha had appeared in the arched doorway, her flame-topped head turning first right, then left. _Looking for me,_ Pegasus realized, and shivered. The beige, sleeveless shirt clung to Sorcha's upper torso, clasped by a single button resting between her breasts, then gradually flared out to swish lightly against her hips. Each movement of the two strips of cloth revealed tantalizing slices of her flat, pale stomach, and her arms, lean and gently rippled with muscle, glowed softly in the dim light of the Temple.

Mongoose, of course, recovered first. "You better close your mouth," he told Peg smugly. "You'll catch flies!"

She managed to drag her eyes away from Sorcha's approaching form long enough to shoot Goose her best withering glare. "We don't have flies here, dumbass," she told him. "Only those huge, prehistoric-looking cockroaches. And besides, you were gaping, too."

He smirked and turned back to the computer. Peg whipped her head around to continue ogling at Sorcha, and saw her moving slowly towards them through the press of bodies. _Thank you, Trinity,_ she offered up a silent prayer.

Peg was leaning casually against the wall next to Mongoose when Sorcha finally arrived. The older girl came to a halt a few feet away, and Peg felt her eyes irrevocably drawn to how the thin shirt sculpted itself to the curves of Sorcha's breasts. She heard Sorcha's low chuckle and felt her cheeks redden, but her eyes, when she met that steady, green stare, were defiant.

"Hi," said Sorcha, moving forward and trapping her against the wall, standing close enough to touch her, but leaving an inch of space between their bodies.

"Tease," breathed Peg, her gaze flicking from Sorcha's lips to her eyes, and back again.

"Ladies!" Mongoose interjected, clearing his throat loudly over the thudding music. "You can make out later. It's time for dancing now." He glared at Sorcha. "And now that you're finally **here**, I can really get this party going."

"I'm sorry, Goose," Sorcha replied contritely, and managed to pull herself away from the wall. "I didn't realize you were waiting for me."

"Well, I was," he replied gruffly. "So get out there!" He pointed to the Stage, and Sorcha realized that nearly the entire Academy was up there. She glimpsed Kid's flailing arms and legs, and laughed out loud. 

"We're going," she said, and grabbed Peg's hand. As they set off towards the nearest set of curving stone stairs, "What is Love" faded in volume, and Goose's cracking voice suddenly filled the Temple.

"Hello, Zion! And welcome to the ninety-first annual Academy Day celebration!" The crowd roared its approval, and Sorcha let out her own whoop. This was just _fun._ The usual crackling tension that pervaded the city had disappeared. This was a celebration. Everyone was safe - every ship was docked. It was time to relax, to pretend that tomorrow, the return to war, would never arrive.

"If you have requests or dedications," Mongoose continued, "just come on over here and let me know. Otherwise, I expect to see you all _dancing_! And now, without further ado..."

His voice faded out, echoing around the hall, only to be replaced by the opening track of Jock Jams I. Sorcha laughed out loud.

_Ladies and gentlemen... WELCOME to the MAIN EVENT!_ Another swelling roar from the crowd.

"This is great!" Peg shouted into her ear. "My soccer team used to listen to this before every game!"

_Let's get ready to rumble!_

Sorcha and Pegasus made their way up the steps, and into the crowd of Cadets. "Hey, Sorcha!" shouted Kid, who had just noticed their arrival. "Come dance over here!"

Sorcha grinned and shrugged as Peg whispered, "Well, aren't you popular?" Picking their way through the mass of people, they finally joined the enthusiastic newbie, who was dancing with a knot of older students and even some recent graduates.

"Sphinx!" Sorcha cried happily. "Damn, it's good to see you! How's life aboard the Gnosis?"

"Crazy!" Sphinx replied, her golden ponytail lashing her shoulders as she moved in time to "Get Ready 4 This." "But really great, too. I mean, now that Neo's around... heading 'Trixside is a lot less freakin' scary than it used to be."

"I bet!" Sorcha shouted back. And then the music shifted, changed from to "U Can't Touch This."

"Holy shit!" Peg yelled. "I haven't heard this in ages!"

_Music hits me so hard, makes me say "Oh my Lord..._

Sorcha watched nearly everyone on the Stage singing along, and she quivered with laughter. "This is a song from OUR generation!" she told Peg.

"Maybe that's why I have no idea why it's so appealing," Niobe's voice rang out behind her. Sorcha spun around and grinned widely at the sight of the female captain, whose petite form was flanked but not overshadowed by Ghost and Sparks.

"Come dance!" Sorcha shouted back. "You just have to get into it!" Their circle opened reverently for the three veteran soldiers, and Niobe smiled.

"It's a lot more fun to dance with you guys than with the older crowd. They're all far too... inhibited!"

_Stop - Hammer time._

As MC Hammer faded into 2 Unlimited and "Tribal Dance," Niobe laughed out loud. "Well, look who's here," she said, jerking her head towards the backlit entrance of the Temple. 

"Behold, the Lord and Lady of the Matrix," intoned Peg, grinning. Sparks snorted loudly.

"Oh, please," he muttered. "Can we ditch the excessive cheese?"

Sorcha glared at him and took an unconscious step in front of Peg, as though to protect her, but all she said was, "Think they'll come dance?"

"Trinity used to dance," Niobe mused. "But the Neb hasn't come home for A-Day in years."

"Well, if they come up, they come up," Peg said firmly. "It's time we stopped tapping our feet and really started moving!" She grabbed Sorcha's hand and pulled. 

_So get into it, get into the trance - this is the rhythm of the tribal dance..._

---

"Want to dance?" Trinity asked lightly, as they paused in the mouth of the Temple and watched the jostling crowd. Neo's head swung towards her, and his face was contorted in a strange mix of disbelief and fear. She wasn't used to seeing either from him, anymore.

"Trinity..." he began, hesitantly. "I don't dance. I can't."

"That doesn't matter," she laughed. "It's not about whether you can. It's about letting go. Relaxing. Having fun. We don't do that enough."

He ogled at her, but beneath the shock lurked his unshakeable, muley stubbornness. This was going to be a tough fight to win.

"Are you telling me that **you** dance?"

She laughed again, as the memories of past A-Days flooded back into the forefront of her memory. Moving awkwardly on still unsteady legs, her dark hair a halo of fuzz, grinning at fourteen-year-old Ghost as he tripped over his own feet that very first year. There had been space between them, then; at fourteen, they were both still shy. But that space had closed during the following years, had narrowed and become nonexistent. Until the Oracle. After that, neither Trinity nor Morpheus was home for the dancing.

Trinity shook her head. That time - the lonely time - it was over now. She felt the music pounding in her ears, pounding in her blood, and realized that for the first time in a decade, she **wanted** to dance. But Neo was going to take some convincing.

"I used to," she told him. Surveying the crowd, she caught sight of the crews of the Vigilant and the Hammer gathered in a group near the foot of the stairs leading up to the Stage. "Come on," she said, grabbing his hand. "Let's go talk to some people."

_Everybody dance now! Give me the music..._

As they neared the Stage, Neo looked up and chuckled. "Look," he said, pointing. "There's Sorcha - surrounded by a huge group of people."

Trinity followed his line of sight and grinned affectionately. "Good for you, kid," she murmured. And then another laugh overtook her as Niobe became visible for a brief moment. "The crew of the Logos is up there dancing," she pointed out to Neo. 

His smile faltered, but she refused to let go of his hand... and soon they had reached the other Resistance fighters, who were more than happy to engage the One in conversation. But Trinity's feet refused to stop tapping. She didn't want to talk.

_Let the music take control - let the rhythm move you... everybody dance now!_

"I'm going up there," she said decisively, her navy eyes daring Neo to come along. 

"Okay," he muttered. "I'll just, uh, stay here."

She shrugged and raised her left eyebrow at him; it was a tantalizingly mysterious expression, and he almost took a step forward. Almost. But then he remembered Elizabeth Parker laughing at him as he tried to dance to "Stayin' Alive" at the Winter Ball during his freshman year of high school, and the memory froze him cold. He turned back to Soren. Trinity shrugged, and regally ascended the stairs.

The music changed. _I'm going down down baby, yo' street in a Range Rover..._

"What the hell?" Trinity heard Niobe shout, as she neared Sorcha's circle. "Did that guy just say 'Shimmy shimmy cocoa puff?'"

"That's what I heard!" Ghost replied, laughing. Laughing. Trinity grinned. How long had it been since she had heard him laugh?

"It's Nelly!" Kid was yelling back. "'Country Grammar!' You haven't heard of it?"

Sparks guffawed, loudly. "Ghost was unplugged in 1986! He hadn't even heard of Madonna when he first got here!"

"Is that really a loss?" Ghost asked, as Kid's eyes widened, perhaps in horror.

Trinity chose that moment to step forward. "Mind if I join you all?"

Sorcha bounded forward and slipped an arm around the older woman's waist in a brief hug. "We were hoping you'd come up!" Over Sorcha's red head, Trinity caught Niobe's smile.

"It's been a while, Trinity."

"Too long," she agreed. "Hopefully I'm not out of practice!" But just as she was trying to figure out how the hell to dance to this **bizarre** modern rap song, the music switched again.

_God bless you, Mongoose,_ Trinity thought.

"Ha!" Niobe yelled. "This is a song from OUR time!"

_Humidity's rising... barometer's getting low... _

"Seventh grade," said Trinity.

"Mmmmhmmm," Niobe replied. "I had a crush on Marcus Wilson!"

_It's raining men - Hallelujah! It's raining men - Amen!_

Kid was dubious at first, but he managed to flail just as blindly to the Weather Girls as he had to Nelly. And when the disco beat was replaced by the familiar whisper of a hi-hat, he, Sorcha, and Pegasus all went nuts.

"Yes!" Peg shrieked. "I know every word to this song!"

"Me too, me too!" Kid screeched. Sparks looked genuinely alarmed, and took a step backwards so that Ghost was between him and the maniacal newbie.

Sorcha just rapped along. "All right stop, collaborate and listen. Ice is back with my brand new invention. Something grabs ahold of me tightly - then I flow like a harpoon daily and nightly. Will it ever stop? Yo -- I don't know! Turn off the lights and I'll glow. To the extreme I rock a mic like a vandal - light up a stage and wax a chump like a candle."

"Dear God," said Ghost. Trinity had stopped dancing and was watched Sorcha in avid fascination.

"I will never understand what you people hear in this song!" Sparks shouted.

_You better hit bull's eye, the kid don't play..._

"That's me!" shouted Kid. "The kid!" Peg rolled her eyes but kept on singing.

"That block was dead yo, so I continued to -"

"A1A BEACHFRONT AVENUE!" finished Sorcha gleefully. And just then, Neo arrived.

He shuffled up, hands shoved deep into his pockets, and tapped Trinity lightly on the shoulder. "Hey." She spun around, and her smile was radiant. But before she could say anything, he murmured. "Do you... maybe want to go?"

Trinity looked at him for a long moment, but he refused to meet her eyes, and finally she gave in with a sigh. He was genuinely uncomfortable, and that was the last thing she wanted, especially while they were supposed to be relaxing on leave. She opened her mouth to assent...

... and Mongoose put on Guns 'n' Roses.

_Take me down to the Paradise City where the grass is green and the girls are pretty - oh won't you please take me home!_

Neo's head snapped up as all of Zion went wild. "Hey!" he exclaimed. "I know this one!" The electric guitars kicked in.

"This is Zion's theme song!" Sparks shouted before starting to headbang.

"Take me down to the Paradise City where the grass is green and the girls are pretty," Sorcha sang to Pegasus while jumping up and down in time to the beat.

"Take! Me! Home!" Peg finished.

The Kid was headbanging so hard that he didn't even see Neo until halfway through the song. "Neo!" he yelped finally.

Neo waved at him from across the circle, where he and Trinity were rocking out with the best of 'em. And then, suddenly, Mongoose was in the middle of the group, and he was **breakdancing **- spinning on one hand and then on one shoulder, and even, once, performing a successful backflip.

"You go, Goose!" cried Niobe.

"I could do that in the Matrix," Neo told Trinity. She laughed louder and harder than he had ever seen her laugh before.

_Oh won't you please take me hoooooooome. Yeah! Baby!_

Trinity expected Neo to want to leave after the final, lingering chord of the song, but when "Be My Lover" came on right afterwards, he kept moving. She grinned at him and sang along.

"Looking back on all the times we've shared together, you oughta know by now if you want to be my lover..."

This time, he was the one who laughed, and took two steps forward until his mouth was next to her ear. She shivered. "If you don't know by now that I **am** your lover," he whispered warmly, "I've been doing something wrong!" She pulled just far enough away to meet his sparkling brown eyes, then leaned in for a swift kiss.

Meanwhile, Mongoose was serenading Niobe. "I must confess, girl, yes, I wanna be your lover. Take a chance, my love is like no other. On the dance floor getting down - hold tight, I'll never let you down. My love is definitely the key; like Boyz II Men, I'm on bended knee. Loving you, not like your brother, aw yeah, I wanna be your lover."

The captain of the Logos actually doubled over in gales of laughter, and Sparks whispered loudly to Ghost, "Good thing Deadbolt doesn't come to these things!"

Finally, Mongoose had to get back to his computer - "Gotta cue up some more songs," he shouted. "You guys have any requests?"

Trinity's eyes flared, and she beckoned him over, stooped to whisper in his ear. Goose chewed meditatively on his bottom lip for a few seconds, then nodded. "Yeah, I've got that. No problem! Anyone else?" 

Neo cast a quick look at Trinity, and then stepped forward. Goose grinned as the One mumured his request, then snapped a sharp salute.

"Can do, thanks to the fine music-shopping skills of Captain Ballard." He smiled rakishly. "You'll hear 'em shortly. See you!" And then he was off, running nimbly down the stairs as La Bouche gave way to En Vogue.

_Prejudice- wrote a song about it, like to hear it? Here it goes! FREE YOUR MIND!_

Zion roared its approval yet again.

Sorcha threw back her head and sang along. "I say, free your mind, and the rest will follow..."

"Is this Morpheus' theme song?" Neo shouted to no one in particular, and everyone laughed. His answering smile made Trinity want to write Goose a thank-you note for playing "Paradise City" when he had.

The fading refrain was finally replaced by the voice of Belinda Carlisle. Trinity grinned and moved closer to Neo.

_Ooh, baby do you know what that's worth? Ooh, heaven is a place on earth. They say in heaven, love comes first. We'll make heaven a place on earth._

"I requested this one," she told him softly, sliding her arms around his neck. His hands came to rest on her waist, and she felt the warmth soak through her thin shirt. 

_In this world we're just beginning to understand the miracle of living. Baby I was afraid before, but I'm not afraid anymore._

Neo wrapped his arms more tightly around her, and she ran her fingers through the short hairs above his head plug. "I'm glad you stayed," she whispered.

"Me, too."

But when the next song came on, he pulled away. "I requested this one," he told her with a somewhat sheepish grin. "But it's not really meant for slow-dancing. Unfortunately."

"Fatboy Slim!" shouted Kid ecstatically, across the circle.

"Fatboy Slim?" asked Sparks. "What the hell kind of name is that?"

_We've come a long long way together. Through the hard times, and the good. I have to celebrate you baby, I have to praise you like I should_. Trinity smiled brilliantly at Neo, and he reached out to briefly squeeze her hand.

The music went on and on, song merging into song, until the Temple walls echoed and reechoed with compounding dance beats.

_I can't get no sleep - I need to sleep I can't get no sleep... Deep in the bosom of the gentle night is when I search for the light, pick up my pen and start to write. I struggle, I fight dark forces in the clear moonlight without fear - Insomnia._

"This sounds familiar!" Neo shouted ironically. Trinity shot him a sympathetic glance, but her pity dissolved into laughter as she heard the next few lines.

_Insomnia please release me, and let me dream of making mad love to my girl on the heath, tearing off tights with my teeth..._

Neo raised his eyebrows and grinned, as she leaned in towards him. "Don't get any ideas, okay? There isn't any nylon in Zion!"

Across the circle, Sorcha lightly slipped her arms around Peg's waist from behind. "Are you having fun?" she asked.

"Yes!" Peg replied. "This is... incredible. I wish it would never end."

"I've never seen them all like this," Sorcha told her, jerking her head back towards the veterans. "It's pretty surreal, actually."

Peg leaned her head back against Sorcha's shoulder and closed her eyes as the song shifted again.

_The only way is up, baby, for you and me now..._

Sorcha felt the soaring music wash over her and through her, felt goosebumps jump into relief on her skin.

_And we'll face what is to come... and we'll face what is to come... With you by my side, we'll face what is to come…_

"I want a _viola_," Peg said suddenly. Sorcha stopped moving.

"What?"

"A _viola. _You know, the drink. I've never had one, and I want one." She turned in Sorcha's arms, her face bright and open and eager. "C'mon, let's each have one!"

But Sorcha was already shaking her head. "No... no, I don't think that's a good idea."

"What? Why not?" Peg asked in confusion.

Sorcha sighed and turned her head away slightly. "They... they make me crazy," she admitted. "Out of control, I mean." Forcing herself to look directly into Peg's hazel eyes, Sorcha took a deep breath. "What I'm trying to say is that whenever I have one of those things, they make me feel very, uh... amorous."

Peg's answering smile nearly split her face. "Yeah? So what? How is that a **bad** thing?"

Sorcha shook her head. "You don't understand.  I get so damn… intense. It's frightening."

Peg reached out a gentle hand to cup Sorcha's face. "I'm not afraid of you," she said softly. Sorcha closed her eyes and leaned into the younger girl's warm hand. "Let's just have one each," Peg continued. "Just one. And then... let's get the hell out of here."

Sorcha's head snapped up, and her eyes were dark. Peg was smiling faintly, smugly - she knew she had won. "We're gonna get some drinks," she shouted to the group. "See you all!"

Trinity watched them walk down the stairs and towards a long table on which hundreds of violas were lined up in pale, shining rows. A slightly wicked smile twisted her lips. Someday... someday she was going to introduce Neo to that drink. Not tonight - he wasn't ready for it yet. But someday. An anticipatory shiver surged under her skin.

Niobe came to stand next to her, and together, they watched the girls each take a shot glass, raise it in a toast, and then to their lips. "I give them fifteen minutes," Niobe murmured.

Trinity barked out a laugh and shook her head. "No way," she replied. "Ten, maximum. That girl is pure fire."

Niobe shrugged and grinned. "Well, you would know."

Exactly eight minutes later, Neo caught sight of them leaving - they made it halfway towards the door before stopping and kissing passionately for… quite a while. He grinned and watched them regain some semblance of control - enough, at least, to continue walking. And then he nudged Trinity.

"So... I'm thinking we should follow their example."

She laughed at him. "Do you mean you want to leave, or make out in public?"

He grabbed her wrist and drew her in close. "I mean," he murmured, "that I want us to go back to your room so that I can make love to you for the rest of the night." 

Trinity couldn't help it - her breath caught in her throat. She quickly spun away, grabbed Neo's hand, and led him towards the stairs. "Goodnight, everyone!" she called over her shoulder, certain that she could hear Niobe's peals of laughter behind her, but not caring in the slightest.

"Y'know," said Neo as they headed for the door. "I don't blame Pegasus a bit. I mean, Sorcha looks damn good in that shirt."

Trinity bit down **hard** on her lip to keep from laughing. "You liked it, eh?" 

He halted, frowning at her tone of voice. "Did I say something wrong? You know I lo-"

She silenced him with two fingers over his mouth. "You didn't say anything wrong, Neo. I'm just glad you like that shirt... because it's mine." 

By the time she removed her fingers, his eyes were wide and round, and his lips moved soundlessly. "It's... yours?" he asked finally, incredulously.

"Yes."

"Um." He licked dry lips. "Will you promise me something?"

She nodded. "Anything."

"Promise me you'll wear that shirt, next time we're home."

Trinity's answering smile could have reillumined the dark surface of the earth. She let her lips find his, then, in a long, warm, teasing kiss. "I promise."

**_Finis ;)_**

The Academy Dance Party Tracklist

1) What is Love - Haddaway

2) Let's Get Ready to Rumble! - Michael Buffer

3) Get Ready 4 This - 2 Unlimited

4) U Can't Touch This - MC Hammer

5) Tribal Dance - 2 Unlimited

6) Everybody Dance Now - C&C Music Factory

7) Country Grammar - Nelly

8) It's Raining Men - Weather Girls

9) Ice Ice Baby - Vanilla Ice

10) Paradise City - Guns 'n' Roses

11) Be My Lover - La Bouche

12) Free Your Mind - En Vogue

13) Heaven is a Place on Earth - Belinda Carlisle

14) Praise You - Fatboy Slim

15) Insomnia - Faithless

16) The Only Way is Up - Yazz


End file.
